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  Chapter 22

  The horse whinnied, the coachman hastily pulled on the reins and shouted loudly beside him, "Quickly, someone come hold up the carriage! The right rear wheel of the carriage seems to have been knocked off by that sudden boulder, be careful not to let Seventh Miss get hurt!"

  He shouted hoarsely, accompanied by the neighing of horses, and the sound echoed through the empty mountainside. The commotion was so great that it had already frightened Yan Niangniang in the carriage behind into a cold sweat. Yan Niangniang jumped down from the horse-drawn carriage in anxiety and fear, and seeing this situation, she hastily and loudly instructed the servants following her to steady the carriage. After a good while of struggling, when the horses in front finally calmed down, they managed to narrowly escape disaster.

  She couldnt care about her usual stern and dignified image, lifted up her skirt and rushed to the front of the car, asking in her mouth, "Miss Qi, are you hurt? Xue Su, Dan Hong, is Miss Qi okay?"

  Her eyebrows and eyes were filled with worry and urgency, she thought to herself that Seventh Miss must not get hurt at all costs, its best if she doesnt even get a scratch. The old madam had ordered her to accompany Seventh Miss to invite the Buddha statue, originally it was because she valued her, but if Seventh Miss got hurt, the old madam would blame her, and even she wouldnt be able to bear the consequences!

  Xue Sus pale face lifted the car curtain and jumped out of the car, "Dont worry, Seventh Miss is fine."

  She turned to the carman and asked, "Miss asks, how far is it from Qingliang Temple? Why did the wheel break? If its broken, can it be repaired? If it needs to be repaired, how many people will it take, and how long will it take?"

  The coachman hastily bowed his head and replied, "In answer to Seventh Misss question, we have already reached the halfway point up the mountain. The temple was originally only half a kilometer away. However, this road is steep and rocky, making it difficult to pass. Moreover, some wicked person has intentionally scattered many small rocks on the way, which I tried my best to avoid but still couldnt help but hit against the rocks. It seems that we hit something hard somewhere, causing the wheel to break and startling the horse, as well as frightening Miss."

  He crouched down and examined it carefully again, suddenly looked up with excitement, "Misss words, it turns out that it wasnt broken, just scattered! This is great, can be repaired, there are tools under the car, just wait for me to reconnect the wheel hub, and it will be usable again. No need to wait too long, just half a minute!"

  Ming Xuan listened clearly inside the carriage, then tidied up her clothes and tied her cloak tightly. She put on the hat on her cloak to cover most of her face. Only then did she get off the carriage with the help of Xue Su and Dan Hong. In a low voice, she instructed the coachman, "Go ahead and repair it now. Its still early, dont rush or be careless. Make sure to fix it firmly."

  The cart driver looked somewhat frightened, nodding his head repeatedly and saying yes over and over again.

  Yans servant girl stepped forward and supported Ming Xuan, "Its freezing on this mountain road, Miss, why dont you go rest in the carriage at the back?"

  As soon as she finished speaking, a gust of mountain wind blew in, sweeping the small stones and withered branches on the mountain path into the deep abyss of the cliff, making a humming sound that made peoples hearts tremble.

  Ming Xuan tightened her cloak and was about to take a step forward when she suddenly remembered the culprit who had loosened the wheel, so she whispered to Yan Niangniang, "We cant just wait here, why not send some of your familys men to move that sharp rock from earlier, itll also prevent others from getting hurt."

  Although she was frightened in the carriage just now, what happened outside was heard clearly. If it werent for the coachmans remaining calm in the face of danger and the timely stabilization of the carriage by the accompanying servants, Im afraid I wouldnt have escaped disaster today. Even if I had fallen cleverly and hadnt been thrown off the cliff by the powerful horse carriage, I would still be unable to avoid injuring my bones.

  But later generations may not have this good fortune. Knowing that the dangerous rock is harming people, its just a matter of lifting ones hand, and she wouldnt just stand by and do nothing.

  Yans aunt immediately gave orders, she had always been a vegetarian and recited Buddhist scriptures. This trip was also to bring back the statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva for the old lady, so it was only natural that they should do good deeds. Seventh Miss was so kind-hearted, and Yans respect for her increased even more.

  After a while, the servant who was sent to scout ahead came running back and reported to Ming Xuan in the carriage, "There are many sharp stones on the road, it seems like someone has intentionally spread them out. If it were a small cart, it wouldnt be a problem, but for our large carriage, we will definitely suffer damage."

  Ming Xuans eyebrows furrowed tightly as she listened. She pursed her lips and asked in a low voice, "Have all the accounts been settled?"

  The leader of the group did not dare to be slow, and hastily bowed his head to reply, "Reporting to Seventh Miss, my brothers have moved the big stone away, shoveled the broken stones to the side of the road, and everything is tidy."

  Ming Xuan nodded and said in a low voice through the car curtain, "Youve worked hard."

  Before long, the carter secured the wheel and invited Ming Xuan to return to the carriage. Ming Xuan then asked Xue Su to reward the carter with a small piece of silver ingot, and ordered Xue Su to send down a package of money as a thank you gift, saying that in the severe cold winter, Seventh Young Lady sympathized with their hard work on this errand, and gave them wine money. The servants received it and were all delighted, and they even forgot about the life-and-death danger they had just faced, and their footsteps became much lighter.

  Horseshoes rang out in succession, treading on the bluestone mountain path and emitting a clear echo, resonating throughout the mountains.

  The carriage of Yongning Marquis had just left, and another luxurious horse-drawn carriage stopped at the original rocky place. A young man wearing a sky-blue coarse cotton-padded jacket jumped down from the carriage with agility, and upon seeing the neatly arranged small stones by the side of the road, he let out a soft "hmm", as if he had encountered something difficult to understand, his tone filled with deep puzzlement.

  The car curtain moved slightly, and a clear, cold voice came from inside, "Chang Geng, whats the matter?"

  That young man named Chang Geng hastily replied, "Sir, the intelligence from Fengling is not wrong, Madam has indeed made her move. If our guess is correct, it should be around here. But I dont know why, it seems like someone has cleared the obstacles for us... Ill go ahead and take a look."

  He had just finished speaking, and then he jumped forward again with great agility. Not long after, he returned to the front of the carriage, "Sir, not far ahead, there are some broken woods, and the grass has also been trampled by the horse cart. It seems that someone elses carriage had an accident this morning. The family is kind-hearted, fearing that others will suffer, so they sent people to clear the mountain road."

  The carriage was silent for a moment, and after a while, there were voices coming out again. "I understand. Lets hurry up, dont miss the timing."

  There, the carriage of Yongning Marquiss mansion slowly climbed up to the gate of Qingliang Temple on the mountain top.

  Yans aunt got off the carriage first, holding the name card of Zhus old madam from Yongning Marquis manor to pay respects to Yuanfang Zhen. The little monk seemed to have received instructions, bowed and paid his respects, then led the horse-drawn carriage directly into the backyard. The guest monk hurriedly came forward to greet them and invited Mingxuan and Yans aunt into the Chan hall.

  This Zen temple is quiet and spacious, with exquisite gardens, winding corridors, and Sheng Jing often comes to add incense money and send alms. She is very familiar with this place, so she smiles at Ming Huan and says, "This Zen temple only entertains the female members of several aristocratic families in Shengjing City and will not be disturbed by outsiders. Today there are no Buddhist ceremonies, and the weather is cold, it seems that only our family is here. The little monk has gone to invite the abbot, after inviting the Buddha image, we will return to the mansion."

  Qingliang Temple is actually a temple for men, and because of the mixed crowd of people burning incense, Seventh Young Misss precious body shouldnt stay for long. Old Madame had instructed early on to hurry up and leave quickly.

  Ming Xuan smiled and nodded, "Ill listen to Nanny."

  In a moment, a young monk came in and announced, "Please wait for a while, the abbot will be here soon."

  A white-browed and white-mustached old monk walked in, holding a Buddhist rosary. He first smiled and exchanged pleasantries with Madame Yan, then turned to Ming Xuan and asked, "Is this the seventh young lady of the mansion?"

  Yans mother smiled and nodded in agreement.

  He secretly sized up Ming Huan for a moment, then nodded repeatedly and said, "The Seventh Young Lady copied the 99-volume Diamond Sutra for the old lady of your esteemed mansion. Not only is her regular script written correctly, but its also rare that every character and stroke is written with sincerity. Such utmost sincerity and filial piety truly moves people to tears."

  He continued, "Originally, I didnt dare to trouble the young lady from your esteemed household to come over specially, but this Buddha statue doesnt seem like an ordinary object, its not suitable for casual handling, so I can only trouble Seventh Miss to take a trip here personally."

  She took a long, narrow brocade box from the hands of a young nun behind her and placed it on the table, opening it to reveal a glittering golden statue of Guanyin. The statue was small and exquisitely crafted, with Guanyin holding a vase and willow branch in her hand - a shape that Madam Zhu had always been particularly fond of. Whats more, if one looked closely at the eyebrows, eyes, and expression of the statue, it even bore some resemblance to Madam Zhu herself.

  Yans mother was overjoyed and thanked her, then ordered the servant to bring out a package of silver, which she presented with both hands. "The elderly lady has accumulated virtue by doing good deeds, not for fame. She is delighted and also fearful that the temple will be put to expense because of the kindness of the villagers. This 500 taels of silver is for the incense oil money, please accept it, Master."

  Such sincerity, Master Yuan couldnt refuse, so he muttered "Amitabha" and had his young disciple accept the silver.

  Although Ming Xuan had some suspicions that Qingliang Temple was good at collecting money, this clay Buddha statue had been transformed into a golden body, and she had also received 500 taels of silver from her grandmothers incense oil money. It was really unexpected. But these things had nothing to do with her, so she didnt bother to think about them. She simply sealed the brocade box again, held it in her arms, bowed to her mother-in-law, and then bid farewell with Madame Yu.

  Ming Xuan had just boarded the horse carriage when she heard the sound of horseshoes ringing outside.

  She lifted the curtain and looked through the gap, seeing a yellow flower pear wood two-wheeled carriage stopped in the courtyard. Because of the abbots personal welcome, he humbly welcomed the person inside. Due to the obstruction of the carriage, she did not see the visitors appearance clearly, only saw the purple satin corner of his clothes fluttering in the cold wind. Judging from the luxury of the carriage and the abbots attitude, it should be a man of noble status.

  Ming Xuan couldnt help but feel a little relieved that she had left in time, otherwise she would have just happened to run into that person head-on.

  Such an encounter was nothing, but she had been rejected before and was currently negotiating a marriage with the Yan family. She liked this match and didnt want any trouble. Her reputation wasnt great to begin with, and if there were any rumors, she feared the Yan family would back out and not dare ask for her hand again.

  In the quiet path of the Zen temple, Chang Geng replied in a low voice, "Looking at the emblem on the carriage, it should be the Yongning Marquiss mansion. I just asked the little monk, and it turned out that the one inside the carriage is their seventh young lady."

  The man in purple clothes paused for a moment, and it turned out to be her...

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